When you start out blogging, you are fresh-faced and full of inspiration of posts to write and share with the world. It’s new, exciting and fun. You’re starting from the ground up with no subscribers or followers. Eventually, you get into a groove and attract a small following of early members of your tribe. Then when you start to gain a fair amount of traction, you may start being approached for collaborations and even paid work. You then realise that this little blog you’ve built can actually be a source of income for you. When you reach this stage, this is where you have to approach things with some caution.
Be discerning when it comes to blogging opportunities
When you enter into collaborating with brands and companies when blogging, it is very important you quickly learn the difference between a good opportunity and a bad one. You’ll get offers both from people wanting to capitalise on your audience or people who want to push their product on you. I’ll give you examples of bad opportunities from both
A lot of companies will straight up just ask for free work (Blog posts, videos, social media shares etc) in return for ‘exposure to their massive audience’. Unless you have a pre-existing relationship with this brand, I would recommend you come back with your price list and state you don’t have the time to offer work for free.
You can also get people giving you incredibly low prices in comparison to what the job is worth, attempting to cut corners where they can. Or just offer your commission for your referral amounts which you have no guarantee of getting. Other people will send your emails or direct message you on social media trying to sell you their products. They’ll claim they will help you with marketing or bettering yourself but it’s very easy to tell when you’re being sold something you don’t need.
I’d personally never be engaged with these types of approach since I only want to work with brands who value me and my time. Many of these requests that I receive are borderline comical in some cases and I’m sure you’ll know what I mean if you’re a fellow blogger!
To avoid having to deal with these bad situations here’s what you do. You need to make sure you value both your time and your blog’s reputation, as well as yourself! Create a price list and stick to your minimum price if you’re doing this professionally. Only invest in products and work with companies that you believe in and are on board with.
How to recognise good opportunities
Luckily, there are good companies out there who treat their clients and collaborators fairly. The way you can recognise good opportunities is by having conversations that go two ways. If you communicate your rates, turnaround and prove the value your worth to the right companies, you will secure some amazing opportunities.
I’ve been lucky and have a really good line of ongoing clients who I have built up strong business relationships with. An example company would be Get Blogged.
Who are Get Blogged?
Get Blogged is a company that assists both bloggers and brands by building up an online presence. In their words
“Get Blogged is the easiest solution for bloggers wanting to monetise their blogs, and for brands, businesses and agencies needing help with, or wanting to outsource their outreach in a cost-effective way.”
If you’re a blogger, they have a very wide network of brands and will help set you up with for collaborations. They can also help establish you with link building which is especially useful if you intend to grow your blog. If you’re a business, they will assist you with blogger outreach services.
I’ve done a lot of projects with Get Blogged and they have been great to work with. Working with them has been a great and rewarding experience overall. They have assisted in setting me up with multiple brands that fit within my niche. They are also efficient with both their briefs, turnarounds and payments.
It makes a huge difference when you work with companies who are responsive and value you as a client. It really makes blogging worthwhile and exciting getting to score great collaborations with brands. It is also super useful being connected to companies like Get Blogged since they can get you in touch with brands you may not have heard from otherwise.
I hope these tips help you out on your blogging journey!
